Young love is a terrible love that often ends when romance fades, but for those of us who cling to the hopes of fictitious literature rather than reality, young love is everlasting.
That is, until the world’s most famous author destroys everything you ever thought was true.
Maybe not everything, per se. J.K. Rowling recently told Wonderland magazine in an interview with Emma Watson that she didn’t believe Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were quite the right fit as a couple. Rowling revealed that it was “a form of wish fulfillment,” and “there was too much fundamental incompatibility.” Both the author and the actress thought Harry Potter and Granger might have been a better match.
Hold up. Let’s discuss this further before obliterating an entire fandom’s hopes and dreams.
I for one am shocked that such insight has come to light so long after the completion of book seven. My life has been changed for the better by the wizarding world and characters created by Rowling, so the fact that this detail is not as concrete as I once thought is unnerving.
Sure, I’ve discussed the plausible physics behind an active bludger during a Quidditch game and the philosophy of soullessness in relation to a dementor’s kiss, but I’ve never questioned the relationship development of the main characters. It’s difficult to hear such a contradictory opinion from the one person whom millions owe so much of their own imaginations.
Remember that scene in part one of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” when Potter and Granger are dancing in the tent and almost every fan in the world was screaming inside, “She never wrote that bit”? Well, she thought about it.
“When I wrote Hallows, I felt this quite strongly when I had Hermione and Harry together in the tent,” Rowling said in the interview. “And actually I liked that scene in the film because it was articulating something I hadn’t said but I had felt.”
As a devoted fan, I can’t help but be annoyed. Rowling’s feelings directly conflict with what the fandom knows as truth.
Firstly, to some extent, opposites attract. Weasley is a goofy, awkward kid who feels comfortable using humor as a defense mechanism when things get complicated. Granger likes facts and logic, and she sees the big picture, though humor is not lost on her. To this day, one of my favorite parts of the series is when she tells Weasley that he has the emotional range of a teaspoon.
Granger is strong-willed and slightly critical, whereas Weasley is definitely the underdog of the main character trio. They are different, but they complement each other, especially after years of a growing relationship as friends.
I write music about the Harry Potter series, known as Wizard Rock, and when I write songs, I try to stay away from the general story and work my way to the core of specific characters’ situations and their emotions.
I know. It’s insanely nerdy and seemingly pointless because these characters aren’t even real, right? Wrong. The connection I have with a fictional being can be just as strong as the connection I have with people in real life.
Granger’s story in and of itself has always been one of my favorites and equally one of much sorrow. I once wrote a song about Granger’s sacrifices so she could be there for her best friends. She and Weasley are best friends, and I think that’s what makes their relationship work.
I can also see how the tent scene portrayed the strength of Potter and Granger’s friendship, not a romantic spark that foreshadowed a possible future. It was clear in the book and in the film that Weasley’s absence from the group was hard on her. She is a loyal friend, but it was evident at that point in the story that her and Weasley were destined for something more than friendship.
Rowling went on to say Weasley and Granger may have gotten along fine with some counseling, but would they really need it? I think not. I can’t imagine the issues that might arise as a married couple would ever be more challenging, emotionally or otherwise, than what they’d faced previously in their teen years.
I’m not so naïve to imagine that Granger and Weasley’s relationship would have been perfect, but it would have worked. The bond that grew with them during their teen years was too strong to have died away with the destruction of You-Know-Who. It may have been young love, but the experiences they had together were anything but adolescent.
